Dagobah Sunset
by DominoMags
Summary: After school one Friday, Mina is bored and decides to check out a beach she heard about. However, she didn't expect to run into one of her classmates Cover art by justanotherbnhalover
1. Chapter 1

It was a warm, Friday afternoon, after school. Mina Ashido was bored. So bored that she thought her quirk would somehow activate and melt her to death as some sort of subconscious escape from boredom. She could study. She certainly would benefit. However, she decided to raincheck that and go explore. She told her parents she would keep in touch via cellphone. She remembered seeing a newspaper article a while back about a beach that had recently been cleaned up, sometime before classes at Yuuei had begun. She hadn't been to the beach in ages and, while she was more of a social creature, she didn't mind exploring it on her own. It was apparently a popular dating destination now and, while the pink girl wasn't exactly experienced there, she considered herself a romantic at heart. It was enough to pique her curiosity at least.

Mina brought her backpack, which was white, but with a paint splatter pattern all over it, giving it a more colorful appearance, which was just Mina's style. In it, she had sunscreen, her black two-piece bathing suit (with pink accents), black and pink flip-flops a bottle of lemon soda, a beach towel with a sweet 80's color scheme that she loved, and her hot pink star-shaped sunglasses. She also managed through sheer will and awesomeness to fit her boogie board that she bought on summer vacation two years ago, just in case. After all, she was bored and ready to boogie. She was also sad nobody was around to hear that brilliant joke. It was too good to have no audience.

When she arrived at Dagobah beach park, it was a bit later. The sun looked like it would be setting soon, with that beautiful blend of orange and blue befitting of teen romances and surf rock album covers. The humor of a girl who looked like an alien arriving at a beach named Dagobah was not lost on her and she again lamented not having someone to joke about that with.

"Man, I should call Tooru. She would love my jokes." She pondered to herself.

Once she set foot on the beach, she was truly able to drink it all in. It was gorgeous and pristine. It was certainly hard to imagine this place being a garbage dump not too long ago. Now there were seabirds calling in the distance amongst the soothing crash of the waves. The sea sparkled in the afternoon sun. Not too many couples had shown up yet, but there were a few here and there.

"Who knows." The acid-quirk user grinned widely, eyes a twinkle. "Maybe I'll find myself a cutie here."

Not that she was actively looking, but she was open to the idea. She decided to set up her blanket, find a place to change, and then go for a swim. There were changing rooms nearby, so she took advantage of them and slipped into her swimsuit. Once she had it on, put on her flip-flops, and her other clothes were folded and placed in her bag, she was ready to hit the beach like it was a supervillain and she was licensed to do so.

"COWABUNGA!" she shouted gleefully, pumping both fists in the air and smiling widely. She picked up her bag and ran for her towel, placing her bag on it before making a mad dash for the waves. Some of the couples looked a bit annoyed to have their silent moment broken by this rambunctious teenager with pink skin, black sclera, and two horns, but they decided to just ignore her for now. Mina ran for the waves until she stopped in her tracks. She saw someone at the far side of the beach, sitting alone. She thought he was just waiting for his date, but she soon recognized who it was: Izuku Midoriya. The two of them didn't exactly speak very often, but they got along well enough. Still, she was excited to see someone she recognized. She ran towards him, shouting his name.

"Hey, Midori! What's up?" she waved wildly as she ran towards him. She then paused, lit up, and stopped. She ran back towards her stuff, packed it up, and brought it closer to where he was sitting.

When Izuku was sitting on the beach, drinking in the sound of the waves and the seabirds, the glistening water, and the smell of the salt air, he couldn't help but smile. He was proud of this place. It was hard, grueling training, though Yuuei would make that look like child's play as it went on. Still, he felt like he accomplished something. Not only did he get All Might's quirk, train his body, and enter Yuuei, he did a public service. He truly felt like his dreams were coming to fruition. He was at peace right now, on his corner of Dagobah. However, that peace soon shattered when he saw a pretty girl running towards him, saying his name. He was pretty sure he was awake, so he got very flustered and turned red quickly. It got even worse when he recognized the girl.

"A-Ashido? W-w-w-what are you doing here?" he sputtered awkwardly.

He certainly didn't expect a girl from school to come up to him outside of classes, except for possibly Ochako. And even then, he never expected a girl in a bathing suit to come up and say hello. He was pretty sure he was going to die, either from overheating or somehow getting a nosebleed, getting embarrassed, and then dying. She set her towel up again, this time, right next to Izuku's.

"I heard about this beach and I was bored, so I decided to check it out. She grinned, jumping up in the air a little. "What brings you here, Midoriya? Um... Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah. Sorry. I just didn't expect to see you is all…... I'm just taking in the sea." ge replied, staring out at the ocean.

"Gotcha! Soooooooo, come here often?" she joked flirtatiously. Well, it wasn't a total joke. She really was curious.

Izuku blushed and stuttered a little, much to Mina's amusement, but he soon calmed down and stared absentmindedly at the ocean again, before answering her.

"I helped." Izuku smiled towards the sun, before reality brought it crashing down. Did he just give away his training with All Might to be able to handle his quirk?

"Helped with what?" Mina cocked her head to the side in confusion.

Izuku panicked at first, but then sighed. He would have to embellish a little, so he composed his thoughts. He devised a story that was mostly true but left out some details.

"I-I helped clean this beach up. Growing up…. I was a late bloomer. I didn't get… it didn't manifest until a little later. My quirk, I mean. All might…He…he noticed my quirk was a lot like his. So, he helped train me before I entered Yuuei. I was shocked…but very honored. I worshipped All Might as a kid. He inspired me down this path, even when I didn't think I had a quirk, so to meet him in person and train with him….it was amazing. I worked very hard to clean this beach and I'm glad it turned out this way."

Izuku didn't like lying. He would have told the truth, but All Might had trusted him with his secret. Honestly, mentioning the beach training probably saying too much. Still, even if it was painful and hard, that training was an important landmark for Izuku and he was proud of it, especially now that people used this beach again. He was so proud of it that he almost forgot he was telling all this to someone he barely knew, a girl no less. In her swimsuit. Izuku started to tremble upon that realization but tried to compose himself.

Mina moved in closer with a raised eyebrow. She was a bit closer than Izuku was comfortable with. He had never been this close to a girl before, especially in a swimsuit. The closest he had been in that regard was when he would go to the beach with his mom as a small child.

"That…is SO COOL! You cleaned up an entire beach! I mean, that sounds like waaaay too much work. I could never do that. Still, that's awesome." Mina cheered. "Maybe they should name it after you. Midoriya Beach!" Mina gestured with her hands as if making an invisible banner in the air.

Izuku shook his head and blushed. "N-no. I couldn't Dagobah beach is fine as is. I'm fine just coming here to think."

"I can see that. It's really pretty here. I love the beach! I don't go often enough though." Mina smiled, holding up her boogie board.

Izuku couldn't help but smile back sheepishly. He had started to calm down a little, though he tried not to look anywhere below her eyes. "Oh god, am I as bad as Mineta?" he thought to himself."

"You know, Midoriya, I always kind of thought you were an awkward dork with a quirk that keeps injuring him." Mina said sticking her tongue but, leading Izuku's head to sag.

"But man, you're pretty great, aren't you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. You have freaking All Might tutoring you, you, cleaned up a beach on your own pretty much, and you just sort of embody the whole hero thing, don't you? You're a good guy." She said patting him on the back and smiling before jumping up and smiling at him with her arms akimbo. "Now let's go swimming. It's too good an opportunity to waste."

Izuku turned bright red again.

"What's wrong, Midori Forgot a bathing suit? Or are you too nervous to go swimming with a pretty girl." She said with a wink. This turned the boy into a lobster pretty much. Mina had made a mental note to talk to him more. He was fun to mess with and kind of cute. Besides, she had come here wanting to hit up the beach and she now knew she had him to thank for that.

"I-I, um…. I don't know."

"C'mon Midori, don't be shy. It will be fun."

Izuku did bring a swimsuit just in case. He did feel like taking a dip. Besides, he could always chalk this up as quirk training. You never know when you need to save people in an aquatic environment, like during shipwrecks or floods.

"Um…. dude? Are you ok?" Mina raised an eyebrow as Izuku started to mutter to himself.

Izuku straightened up and rubbed the back of his head. He probably should work on that habit.

"Sorry, Ashido-san." He bowed his head.

"Don't be so formal, Midori. You can just call me Mina. Besides, we're at the beach, not in classes or something." Mina stretched her arms out and lifted her legs, preparing to dash into the water.

"Why are you calling me Midori?" Izuku asked.

"Because Your last name is Midoriya and because it's cute." She winked while sticking her tongue out. Izuku blushed and started to shuffle away.

"A-alright. I'll be back." Izuku nodded as he grabbed his bag and ran to get changed. He came out five minutes later in green swim trunks and flipflops that seemed to have All Might on them from what Mina could tell. She had waited patiently for Izuku. She felt it would be a jerk move not to. When she saw him without his shirt on and got a good look at how ripped he was, she was glad she waited.

"Hot damn!" She thought to herself. A light tinge of lilac came across her cheeks, but she brushed it off and grabbed Izuku's hand, causing him to blush in turn.

"Took you long enough, dude. Let's jump in!" She exclaimed with glee. This was going to be fun. Even if she barely knew Izuku, she was happy to have company. Besides, she had decided she would get to know him a bit better after this. While Izuku was taken by surprised and understandably nervous, he found himself feeling similarly.

The two Yuuei students splashed around and enjoyed the water. Mina played around with her boogie board and bounced an idea off Izuku about using her quirk with her boogie board to do sick jumps.

" I-I don't think we could do that in the streets until we get our provisional licenses." Izuku stuttered while floating on his back.

"Yeah. I know. Major bummer." Mina pouted while submerging herself in the water and popping up behind Izuku, spooking the poor boy, much to her amusement.

"W-what was that for?" Izuku exclaimed.

"Fun!" Mina smiled, after squirting a bit of sea water out of her mouth.

"Not for me." Izuku frowned. It was slightly funny, but he still wasn't a fan. "But yeah, that would actually be a pretty cool idea to explore. Maybe in a training situation." Izuku suggested enthusiastically.

"HELL YEAH! ACID SURFING!" Mina shouted with excitement, only to be set back with a shout of "Shut the hell up!" by one of the couples on the beach."

"Guess we're interrupting their date." Mina shrugged, though she did feel a bit guilty. Izuku could tell from the slight blush in her cheeks. He found it kind of cute, but froze when he found himself thinking that.

As it started getting darker, the two decided to watch the sunset together before heading home. Despite it being nearly night time, Mina decided to wear her sunglasses, just because she thought not doing so would be a waste.

"Hey, Midori." She exhaled, the beauty of the sunset and the sound of the waves relaxing her so much, she could see herself falling asleep here. She decided that would be a bad call though, so she would have to get going soon.

"Yes, Ashi…Mina?" Izuku asked turning to her.] as she moved her shades down slightly to show her eyes. This elicited a chuckle from Izuku. He was surprisingly relaxed too. He wasn't sure why though. Maybe it was just the beach. "What's up?" he asked.

"Wanna do this again tomorrow?" she smiled.

"A-alone?" Not that Izuku hated today. He had fun, more than he expected. He was just nervous because he was hanging out with a girl, alone, at a beach frequented by couples going on dates. Furthermore, they would have to keep in contact somehow, so she would probably give her number. Would she? He wasn't exactly an expert here.

Mina shrugged, playing it cool. "Only if you want to, dude. I could invite Kirishima and Tooru too. You can bring friends as well, like Tenya and Ochako." She was correct, though she certainly wouldn't mind just the two of them again. He was cute and fun to mess with. Besides, he was kind of a good example for what a Yuuei student should be, even from just his short time being there.

Izuku liked the idea of being with his friends at the beach and would have found that comforting and less awkward. It made much more sense. So, of course, he screamed internally in awkward confusion when he replied.

"S-sure. I can meet you, just the two of us." Izuku blushed, prompting a thumbs-up from Mina.

"Awesome, Midori! Can't wait! Hold on!" she grinned and cheered before drying off with her towel and digging into her backpack to find a pen and paper. She found a hot pink thin-tip marker and a receipt for sunscreen. Close enough. She wrote her number on it and unzipped Izuku's backpack, shoving the number in there.

"There you go. Just hit me up whenever." She chirped while giving a surfer dude hand signal.

They both walked to the changing stalls, bags and towels in tow, got dressed, packed up, and went their separate ways.

"Later, Midori!" Mina waved.

Izuku waved back. "You too!"

He dug for her number in his bag. He was still reeling. He had a girl's number.


	2. Chapter 2

Izuku looked at the number in his hands after he got home. He was nervous to text Mina back. What would he say? He had talked to girls before, mainly Tsuyu and Ochako. However, even that could be awkward and nerve-wracking, and one of them was among his best friends. Still, after an hour and a half of putting it off, he nervously wrote her a message and sent it. "Hey Ashido-chan. It's Izuku." He typed. He then waited nervously for her response. He didn't have to wait long as he received it 30 seconds later. The conversation started thusly.

Mina: Hey Midori! Thanks for shooting me a text. Now I have your number. Also, It's Mina. :P

Izuku: Sorry, Mina.

Mina: You're forgiven, Midori. Lol

Izuku: So, what are you up to?

Mina: Playing Metroid. Talking to some dork with freckles. He's kind of cute. Don't tell him I said that. P

At this point in the conversation, Izuku nearly dropped his phone and was bright red from blushing so hard. He caught on that she meant him and it made his heart race. He was never the most popular kid before Yuuei and now he was being flirted with. He was torn between internally screaming and muttering to himself about how talking to girls on the phone was awesome. Before he could respond to Mina, she sent him another message.

"Hahaha dude I can tell you are blushing through the phone right now and it's probably really cute. Totes making a habit of this, Midori."

Izuku sighed. He could look forward to this now. He was a nervous, blushing, shaking mess who could barely hold his phone, yet he found himself enjoying this. The conversation lasted for about an hour before they called it a night. They planned to meet at noon and spend more of the day together. It would probably be more crowded, but that didn't bother Mina. She still made sure it was ok with Izuku before they cemented the plans and said good night. The two barely knew each other that well but they both went to bed with the other on their mind.

Just like last time, Izuku got there before Mina. He waited at the entrance of Dagobah Municipal Beach Park for her. He figured, based on a piece of their conversation from last night that she had slept in, so he was prepared to wait a little while. Five minutes later, he got his answer. In the distance, He saw Mina, wearing short acid green sorts, a white t-shirt with the logo of some sci-fi movie he had never seen before, hot pink star shades, and the same backpack from last night on her shoulders. In addition, she was carrying what appeared to be a brown cardboard box in both arms. The two walked on the beach, with Izuku looking rather perplexed but curious.

"Here's a good spot. We can put our towels and stuff here." She smiled while surveying the area, gesturing with her fingers.

She sat the box down, followed by her backpack. Izuku placed his next to hers and took out his towel, with her following suit. Afterwards, she pulled what seemed to be a wireless speaker set for a phone out of the box. She scrolled through until she found a playlist that made her grin from ear to ear.

"Ha-ha! Here we go!" the horned girl smirked mischievously.

Mina plugged her phone into the device, placed it on her towel, and broke down the box, setting it out close to the towels so that it resembled a mat. Once she was satisfied, she pressed play.

Mina started breakdancing, leaving Izuku baffled and flustered. Fittingly enough, the first song was called "Breakdance Beach." It must have been a favorite of Mina's as she was quite energetic in her movements, yet smooth in her funky flow. She was admittedly quite good, yet something weighed on young Izuku's mind.

"What is going on?" he asked himself.

This was quite unorthodox for a day at the beach with a girl, not that he knew all that much about how it was supposed to go. After a while, he started to let his guard down and even smile at this bizarre and, admittedly, very Ashido gesture. She did the worm, some fancy spin moves, and ended it on her side, propping up her head with her left arm, and making a gun signal with her right hand, firing it off with a wink. Several of the beach goers either payed it no mind, looked over in confusion or curiosity, or clapped. A small crowd even gathered nearby to watch.

Izuku was floored. Flirting, breakdancing, and cracking jokes with a huge grin. Izuku never expected it, but he was really starting to like hanging with Mina for some reason. She was his opposite in several ways, and yet she had a warmth about her, flustering him one moment and keeping him engaged the next. She was more outgoing than Izuku in every way, but she had her charms. Izuku snapped out of his moment of introspection and remembered something.

"Oh, r-right. Um, I brought some lunch with me. F-for the both of us." Izuku perked up as he remembered the food he had brought with him.

Mina's eye's twinkled and she nearly speared him into the sand with a thankful hug.

"Food! You rock, Midori! Hardcore!" she chirped in excitement while pumping her fist. Her left leg kicked up behind her while the rest of her clung to Izuku in gratitude.

Once again, Izuku was a blushing mess. He was grateful they weren't in bathing suits yet, as he probably would have melted into a puddle of awkward nerd goop, which would certainly hurt his prospects as a future hero. He sat down on his beach blanket and reached into his things. He produced two ice cold sodas from a small travel cooler and two homemade bentos. Mina dug in happily, taking Izuku by surprise at first but eliciting a small smile from him. The two teenagers ate happily, finishing up with two ice creams from a nearby vendor.

They sat and talked for an hour about classes and heroics before Izuku got up to change into his swim trunks. Mina had other plans though.

"Where do you think you're going?" she smirked, grabbing his arms gently.

"Um….to change?" Izuku looked at her like a cow in front of a train as he spoke. He was slightly confused and feared for the worst.

"Not yet, my student. I'm going to teach you how to breakdance, and school is in session." Mina took on a mock-meditative stance and folded her hands.

Izuku cursed himself for getting roped up in this, but he sighed and resigned himself to his impending death by embarrassment. He shambled over to the mat. Mina got behind him and touched his shoulders while instructing him.

"Ya gotta loosen up. Flow with it, dude." Mina guided him.

Unfortunately, between the gentle touch of an admittedly cute girl and the onlookers on the beach, loosening up was not in the cards. Izuku froze up like he was hit by half of Todoroki's quirk. Mina noticed his shoulders tense up, so she took a risk, something that would either inspire confidence in him and allow him to loosen up, or fluster him further into a stiff mess: she whispered softly into his ear.

"It's ok, Midori. Don't focus on them. Focus on the music. I've got your back. Literally, in this case." She encouraged.

Izuku went a little red at first, but exhaled and closed his eyes. He would end up looking like a fool, but he would try anyway. That's what learning was essentially, right? Learning from mistakes. Besides, more fluid movement wouldn't hurt his technique with One-For-All. Izuku closed his eyes, relaxed his shoulders, and listened to the waves of the ocean, doing the best he could to drown everything out. He wasn't 100% effective with it, but it was a start. Finally, he was ready.

"Ok, Mina. Teach me." Izuku exhaled, a hint of hesitation still in his voice. Still, he was ready.

"That's more like it, Midori!" the fluffy-haired acid-quirk user cheered. She pressed play and stepped back. "Let's begin!"

Izuku failed over and over. Mina did not want to laugh. She wanted to encourage him and have fun sharing one of her hobbies with the boy. Unfortunately, his awkward movements and lack of apparent rhythm made that hard. Still, she did her best before deciding with Izuku that they should try again another time when people aren't watching. Izuku was grateful for this as, he would feel better if the populace weren't judging him. He knew Mina only laughed in jest and not out of maliciousness. He got that sense from her. The other beachgoers just made it too hard.

"Better luck next time, Midori. We'll try in private sometime." She winked, flustering her green-haired pupil.

After dropping the box off in a nearby recycle bin, Izuku and Mina walked together to the changing booth. They walked comfortably side-by-side, though both felt a bit awkward, exchanging glances at each other, wondering if this was a date and if they should hold hands. Mina was far more outgoing and confident. She often just did things, rather than worrying about them. She had never dated anyone before though, and all she had to go on were manga, movie, tv shows, and maybe the experience of friends or family. Besides, as funny as it could be to get Izuku to turn into a blushing mess, she never would want to make him legitimately uncomfortable. She was a bit weirded out by how awkward she was being, a flush of lilac filling her cheeks.

After changing, the two stepped out and looked each other over. Mina was wearing a bikini with the same color scheme as her hero costume this time, while Izuku had swim trunks in the color-scheme of All Might's silver age costume. Mina couldn't help but snicker at how cute and wonderful Izuku was. She had enough. She was going for his hand.

"What's so funny?" Izuku chuckled nervously.

"You are such a nerd! Come on, let's go swimming!" she giggled, dragging him towards the towels so that they could drop their stuff off and apply sun tan lotion.

They took turns applying it to each other. Izuku barely survived the contact. It was both a nightmare of awkward embarrassment and one of the greatest moments in his life. His mind debated over which one it was before settling on a mix of both.

"No need to be so nervous, Midori. It's just sunscreen…unless you like what you see." She waggled her eyebrows and stuck out her tongue. Izuku's blush soon mixed with laughter. He couldn't help himself. "Last one in has to give Mineta their number." Mina joked.

They raced for the water, with Mina making it in first, boogie board in hand. The occasional whistle of the lifeguard added to the lovely cacophony of this trip to the beach. Izuku wasn't sure if this was a date or not, but he was having fun regardless.

After hours of swimming, sunbathing and building a passable sandcastle of the Yuuei campus, Mina and Izuku stood on the dock jutting into the water, watching the sunset together again.

"I never get tired of this." Izuku smiled confidently. He was an awkward mess when it came to certain social situations and he was still getting the hang of his quirk, but he could say with pride that he loved watching the sun as it sank into the horizon.

"Cheers to that, my dear Midori." Mina said in a fake posh accent, holding up a can of soda from Izuku's cooler. Izuku, bashfully offered his up as well and they clanged the cans together, laughing softly.

Most of the beachgoers went home, save for more couples and one or two painters. It was a lot less crowded and way more comfortable now, especially for Izuku. He sipped absentmindedly from his soda while gazing at the sun, his eyes drifting towards Mina now and then, unaware that she would do the same until they both got caught in the act. They gazed at each other and Izuku swallowed hard.

"M-m-mina?" he finally manged to spit out.

Yeah, Midori?" Mina said, with a dreamy look in her eye.

"W-was this a date?" Izuku struggled as the butterflies completed their conquest of his stomach.

"I don't know. It seems like one to me. Did you want it to be?" She smiled softly.

Izuku felt time freeze as he debated with himself. He didn't want to blow things by muttering off observations to himself. What would he even be screwing up though? A potential friendship? Something more? No. He wouldn't mutter. And he didn't. Instead, much to his embarrassment, he awkwardly honked. "Yes!"

Mina tried holding in the laugh, but her face contorted until she couldn't hold it in.

"God, you are such an adorkable fluffball." She chuckled. Her face soon shifted to one of warmth and light, like the sunset itself. "Yes, Midori. It was a date."

Izuku smiled softly out of relief. "Good."

The two slowly locked fingers and stared at the ocean as Mina rested her head on Izuku's shoulder. In that instant, everything felt right.


	3. Chapter 3

Weeks had passed since Mina and Izuku started dating. They would go to arcades and restaurants now and then, or head to Izuku's house, where Izuku had introduced his new girlfriend to his mom. She was very emotional at first about her son bringing a girl home, but was polite and accommodating to Mina.

The pair didn't feel like advertising their new relationship to the entire class, at least not yet. They knew it would get out eventually, so they just told their friends and let it flow naturally from there. Iida, Ochako, Tsuyu, Tooru, and Kirishima already knew now. The rest would find out in due time. "No rush." The two agreed.

However, often, the two would end up at the beach where it all started. It was their spot. It held a lot of value for both teenagers, especially Izuku. It was tied to his journey towards becoming a hero, towards the bond he built with his mentor All Might, to his entering Yuuei, and now his first date. Regardless of whatever happened next, this beach had cemented itself in Izuku's heart as a place of great significance.

Unfortunately, it was raining today. Izuku and Mina ran for the dock and sat at the gazebo, staring out at the rain hitting the ocean. There was just something engaging about it, even if their day was a wash. They might have been caught in the rain, but they had each other. Izuku was new to this, as was Mina. She was easier going about it than awkward Izuku. Izuku unpacked the lunch he had brought (turkey and cheese sandwiches and a couple sodas), offering Mina her food as they ate beneath the roof of the dock structure. The staccato rhythm of the raindrops set the mood for their date. Even if things didn't go to plan, it was still rather nice.

Mina, having finished her sandwich, got up from her seat and sat next to her date, placing a head on his shoulder. He blushed heavily, even if she had done this before. He didn't know if he would ever get over it, but he hoped he would, as it did feel nice.

"Midoriiiii." Mina almost sang.

"W-what is it, Mina?" Izuku stuttered, still finishing his sandwich.

"I'm boooooored." She wined playfully.

The two young heroes in training were soaked to the bone. The waves weren't rough or choppy. It was gentle aside from the rain. Since they were wet anyway, Mina dragged Izuku with her towards the water and looked at him.

"Why not?" she grinned, her curly pink hair inundated with water. She jumped into the water and invited him in.

Izuku was hesitant. This was not a good idea. It was wet and rainy and they could probably get sick. Also, there was a possibility it would reflect poorly on them as future heroes.

"Consider this training, Midori. I fell off a boat while fishing. Come get me!"

Izuku sighed and took off his shirt, revealing the muscular form already somewhat visible from the rain that caused the garment to cling to his body.

A light lilac blush crept across Mina's face as her smile widened. She gave a whistle, flustering the green haired boy even more. If mina didn't know any better, she could swear steam was coming from Izuku from how red hot his face was. He dove in after her and carried her to shore, even though she flailed and put on a show (not too much of one though. She didn't want to bring any attention to them and make people think there was actual trouble).

As Izuku dragged the pink girl to shore, he carried her bridal style, not realizing how it looked until she pointed out.

"My hero." She swooned overdramatically, trying to to burst into laughter from how ridiculous she was being. Even Izuku, through his blushing and stammering, couldn't help but laugh.

As he sat her on the beach, she decided the fun wasn't over. She flopped backwards with exaggerated motions and laid down on the sand, arms and legs stretched out and her tongue hanging out of her mouth.

"I swallowed too much sea water, Mr. Hero. Please give me CPR. BLEH!" the acid girl croaked as she played possum.

Izuku, cheeks red from a combination of blushing and prolonged exposure to the elements, shook his head. "K-knock It off, Mina. We should get back to the dock, then grab our stuff and leave. We can go back to my place."

Opening only one eye, Mina lightly raised her head. "I am dead. I cannot go anywhere until I am rescued. Also, I would wink at your proposition, but I suppose I already sort of am." She puckered her lips and closed her eyes again.

Izuku swore this silly girl would be the death of him one day. And they hadn't interacted for all that long. He decided to play along, but not in the way she had been suggesting, instead putting his hands together and applying pressure to her chest, as he remembered from a training exercise once. Even superheroes should know basic first aid. Recovery girl taught him that once on one of his unfortunately frequent visits.

Mina would have been disappointed if not for two factors. First, she was willing to wait and not rush their first kiss. She may have enjoyed teasing her boy, but she never wanted to make him feel genuinely uncomfortable or rush things forward. Secondly, him putting his hands on her chest, even if not intended in that manner, gave her so much fuel to work with.

"M-mister Midoriya. Moving fast, aren't we?" She moved a finger to her lips and gave a pouty, slightly seductive look.

"C-cut it out! You suggested CPR." Izuku lifted his hands and waved them wildly in objection to her jest.

"I meant mouth to mouth, but either way, dude. Swing for the fences. You'll get that homerun." She winked. She could have made a joke about gripping his bat, but that was too far, even for her. At least this early on. Even Mina had her limits.

"M-MINA!"

"I'm just funnin' ya, Midori." She said, leaping up gracefully, despite being waterlogged. Izuku tried not to stare at her body as her clothes clung tightly to her body.

"Don't be such a Mineta, Midori. I expected much better of you." Mina huffed and turned around, feigning offense. She was having way too much fun teasing this boy. He was so sweet and funny, and she truly enjoyed his company. But of course, she had to show her affections like this. It was the Ashido way.

"C-can we please get going? We should continue this d-date where it's warmer and dryer." He protested.

Mina prepared a face of pure, fake exasperation and took a deep breath before relenting and saying "Yeah, ok. Lead the way, MidMid." She cheered.

"Do….do you have any more nicknames for me?" Izuku pouted slightly, having nearly had his fill of her antics.

She grinned widely, like a roseate trickster goddess. "Do you have a notebook at home?"


	4. Chapter 4

Izuku and Mina couldn't always make it to the beach, especially with their busy lives as Yuuei students. Plus, going to the same place all the time could make for a boring date. Still, this had become their beach. It held a lot of meaning, from their first date, to Kaminari finding out about the two when he and Kirishima were on their way to a picnic Tooru had invited them to (for some reason, the electro quirk user hoped there would be spaghetti). After that, Mina and Izuku just decided to tell everyone else. The reception was very warm overall, though Bakugou couldn't give two shits.

While the two had been swimming, they noticed a commotion. There were two villains rampaging. One seemed to be a strength enhancing quirk, like Izuku's. Either that, or geokinesis, as every time it was used, the earth shook a little. They weren't sure what the other quirk was exactly, but a few large objects in the distance seemed to vanish.

Trying to think on their feet while licensed heroes came on the scene. The two tried to think of something, especially since they weren't permitted to use their quirks. Izuku brainstormed, muttering to himself in a way that made Mina stare in concern before she snapped her fingers.

"You're doing it again, Izu-kun" Mina placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder, a concerned yet understanding expression on her face.

"S-sorry. Just trying to think of something. These villains don't look too tough, but we aren't authorized to use our quirks."

"Well of course, we get involved." the pink girl chimed.

"But Mina…" Izuku wanted to help. However, he had no plan.

"No butts, Izu. Not yet, anyway." She winked. "Heroes get involved, even when it isn't our business." She smiled widely at the boy.

Izuku's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah. We should. "Izuku smiled and nodded. He was unsure of how to do so, but he was anxious to stop the villains.

"Besides, there is another way to do this, without quirk use." Mina stated confidently.

Izuku didn't have a low opinion of Mina by any means, but he was pleasantly surprised she had a plan in mind. He curious, willing to hear his girlfriend's plan, though he had a feeling it would be ridiculous. He was right.

"Yo, morons! Over here! Leave these people alone." The acid girl cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted towards the two villains, one who was a tall, muscular, bald woman with completely white eyes. The other one was closer to Mina's height, with shoulder-length blue hair and a scar over his left eye.

"Or what, Pinky? What are ya gonna do?" the taller woman leered as she bent down to Mina's level.

"I challenge you." She said with a fire in her eyes, striking a pose and readying herself for combat. She looked at Izuku and smiled. He smiled back nervously but he was not sure about this plan.

The villains were taken aback.

"Are…are you for serious?" the long-haired man asked, raising an eyebrow incredulously.

"Deadly serious. Of course, you can always just pack it up. I mean, what kind of villains are you if you have no style?" Mina teased. This was a dumb gambit, but stalling for time was the best they could do right now within the limits of the law.

Mina took out her wireless speaker set, plugged her phone into it, chose a playlist on her media player and pressed shuffle, pausing immediately. She gestured to the item with pride, then pointed at the two troublemakers.

"Dance battle, sucker. We lose, we surrender and let you go on. You lose, you sit tight for the pros and the police." Mina placed one hand on her hip and held her pointer finger up with a wink as she issued her challenge.

"That's fucking stupid. Prepare to die, kid!" The shorter man shouted, preparing to use his quirk. However, his partner stopped him. He glared into Mina's eyes with a cold, intimidating stare.

"You're on." The tall woman growled. "One on one?"

Mina shook her head and looked at Izuku, giving an encouraging nod. "Teams." Izuku was aghast but he swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

"What the shit, Asuka? We can just thrash these punk kids and leave before any heroes show up. This is a waste of time. Just zap em already." the other villain was having none of this.

The woman known as Asuka merely smiled "Why go to the beach if you can't have fun, Shinsuke? Besides, I don't know about you, but my style is strong." Her smile growing wider as her partner grumbled. She found a piece of broken off fence buried in the sand nearby and placed her hands upon it, transmuting the object into a large, broken-down cardboard box before lying it down perfectly where there would be plenty of space. She grabbed Mina's speaker system and placed it closer to the box, then pressed play. "I'll start us off."

The tall, intimidating woman stepped into the center of the box, stiff and steadfast. She looked very statuesque, her only movement being subtle head bobbing. That all changed when the song really kicked in though, as her posture melted and her movements seemed almost like water, flowing elegantly, yet violently. She was popping and locking like the beat was her domain and she was its god empress. Clearly, this woman was no joke. She did a head-spin that made Izuku's follow suit. Her partner was astonished, but in a neutral way (impressed by her sills, but embarrassed that this was even a thing they were doing right now.) The transmutation quirk user transferred to a handstand, then flipped back into a standing position. At this point, crowd of people had gathered of those who had not ran far enough away yet. The fact that the chaos had stopped, coupled with curiosity at what was going on was enough to pull them towards potential danger. A portion of the people who were previously running and screaming for their lives were even impressed enough to applaud, especially when given a look by the bald villainess. Thus, is the human condition.

Asuka stopped walked over to Mina and smiled condescendingly. "You're up, Pinky." She proclaimed, gesturing to the box.

"If you insist. Just try not to let the sun shine off your head. You might throw me off." Mina wasn't exactly cocky, certainly not to Bakugou levels, but she was confident and playful and, even if she had her weaknesses and her insecurities, she knew what she was good at. The next song played, and she limbered herself up, stretching her arms and legs before exhaling and closing her eyes. Her shoulders alternated to the rhythm. She shimmied left and right before getting right into it, she was a force of nature, melting down like the music was her quirk, transforming her into a sort of distilled essence of funk. She did some jackhammers, transferred into a series of hand hops into a head-spin, then a backspin, then some flares, before slipping out of it and ending on a head slide. This got a huge pop from the audience and Izuku was impressed by how incredible his girlfriend was at this. Then he started to worry about how he would do. Then he wondered how great she would do in class if she devoted half as much time to studying as she did to this. He shrugged and continued to applaud Mina. Mina popped up immediately, bowing to her audience and walking over to Asuka.

"Your boy's up next." She raised an eyebrow and grinned.

Asuka scowled at how impressive Mina's arsenal was. Still, she regained her composure. "This isn't over yet, you little black-eyed peach, pinching Mina's cheeks, much to the horned girl's chagrin. "Shinsuke, get in here."

"Asuka. You're smarter than this. Smarter than me. I mean that. But you are being an absolute idiot right now." He groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "The heroes will arrive at any moment. And how will we look as villains if we accept a child's challenge to a dance battle? And lose?" the long-haired man was practically begging for this nonsense to end so that they could get out of dodge before they were apprehended by heroes or the police.

"It's the principle of the thing. Besides, if your heart's not in it, you can just do the worm. It's suiting for how you're behaving right now." Asuka shrugged off her partner's concerns, even if he was making solid points.

"What, reasonable?" Shinsuke scoffed.

Asuka sighed. "Yeah. You're right." She turned to Mina. "Sorry, kids. Playtime is over." Izuku had been nervous about his turn, but now he knew it didn't matter either way. The villains had decided to end this admittedly trivial, if not creative strategy and now Mina, as well as the rest of the beachgoers, would pay for it. He clenched his fist and steeled himself, his eyes taking on a look of determination as he dashed in towards the villain and winded up his fist as it sparked with energy. Asuka turned around to see it coming for her before it stopped in her face, having changed to a "stop" motion.

Izuku was visibly shaken, but did not change his expression, except to give a shaky smile to Mina before composing himself and running for the make-shift dancefloor. The music had been playing this whole time and he would not waste it, especially if it would further stall for time.

Everyone stopped what they were doing for a second, though Asuka was ready to just end it at Shinsuke's suggestion and make a break for it. Izuku wasn't anywhere near Mina's level when it came to the art of breakdancing, but he had learned enough, and had combined it with basic evasive maneuvers he learned from Yuuei. It had become a literal dance battle as Izuku, did an air flare, transferred into a hand-hop, and did a backspin to avoid his foe's blows. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long until the police arrived, accompanied by All Might.

"I'll take it from here, Young Midoriya. You too, Ashido. I hope you are not harmed. You didn't…" He was about to lecture them, as he didn't want them to get in trouble, but knew the law about quirk use.

"No sweat, All-might. It was probably reckless of us to provoke villains. We put ourselves in danger. It's my fault."

"But we did not use our quirks. We merely did what we could to distract the villains without using our powers."

All-Might chuckled. "Some things don't change, my boy. You better be more careful from now on. You seem to be having an influence on Ms. Ashido here." He said, giving a knowing look at Izuku and Mina while stroking his chin. He certainly wasn't the most experienced in this field, but he was observant enough to notice two of his students spending an awful lot of time together. Izuku started getting flustered until Mina held his hand. Normally that would have made his face turn redder, especially in front of his mentor. Instead, it calmed him enough to utter a very awkward "Y-yeah."

All-Might nodded and saluted the two, telling them he would see them in class. He then returned to his duties as the police took the two villains away, with Asuka vowing to kick the asses of the punk kids who got her caught and Shinsuke shaking his head at his cohort's level-headedness crumbling in the face of a challenge.

Izuku and Mina watched the sunset from their beach towels, drinking the beautiful view in. Ultimately, the two ended up overlapping their towels so that they could lie down together and snuggle, Izuku adjusting himself to not get poked in the eye by her horns. The two eventually settled on a comfortable position. For all of two minutes until they both realized after five minutes where they had absentmindedly placed their hands. Mina had one hand on Izuku's abs and Izuku's had a hand on Mon's breast. Both were blushing messes, especially Izuku. They were so comfortable.

"Feeling handsy, aren't we?" Mina joked, not being able to hide her blush.

Izuku was blushing wildly and stuttering. Was he moving too fast? Was worried he might be. He certainly didn't intend to go this far, this fast, not that he was opposed to it someday. Mina turned around and hovered over Izuku, touching her forehead to his.

"Easy, Izu. I'm just messing with you. If you were going too far, I would tell you. We don't have to rush things if you don't want to." She chuckled gently.

"O-ok. Thanks." Izuku's worries somehow, melted way. He was falling for her moving in slowly and closing her eyes. Her and Izuku slowly but intimately kissed, holding each other close. They didn't even pay the sunset any mind tonight, as they were too busy basking in each other's glow.

"By the way… you weren't bad today. You're getting better, Midori." The acid girl whispered softly.

"Thanks. Not as good as you though. Y-you're amazing, Mina!" He responded with a bashful smile. Mina couldn't help how adorable her boyfriend was and covered him in smooches, prompting awkward giggles and feigned protestations from Izuku.

They would both wake up an hour or two later when their phones blew up and their parents started to worry. Mina's older brother offered to pick them up and take them home. He teased the two immensely, as older siblings have a tendency of doing. Regardless, today was a great one and a harbinger of things to come.


	5. Chapter 5

Izuku sat on the beach alone, watching the blue sky and thinking to himself. He had been with Mina for half a year now and he wanted to be completely honest with her. However, he also knew he had vowed to All-Might that he would reveal his secret to no one. However, Izuku also thought of the future. What kind of hero would he be? Would he seek to imitate All-Might wholesale, or carve his own legacy as the symbol of peace's successor?

He would need to let others know of his secret at some point, just as All-Might did. He would also need to build a support structure. All-Might once said that people needed a symbol, a pillar of peace. However, a pillar on its own is not a solid foundation, and since Izuku and Mina were a steady couple, he felt he should let her in, no matter what. He owed it to her. He also realized he had never said those words to her, the ones she had said to him, the ones he wanted so desperately to say but he had trouble getting out.

He didn't move when the large figure hovered over him, skeletal with sunken eyes. "You asked to see me, young Midoriya. This is certainly a good meeting place. I take it its important?" Yagi Toshinori wiped

"I…I don't know what to do. I have been dating Mina for about 6 months. I want to tell her the truth. I owe her that much, but..." Izuku paused, looking out at the sea.

"You want to tell her about your quirk. How you were born without one until I bestowed mine upon you. Is that right."

"I know. It's too much. I promised not to. I just want to be honest with her, but this is a big secret you trusted me with. I can't let you down." Izuku was shaken. He had no idea what to do. He felt torn between his idol and his future as a hero, and his girlfriend. The words that escaped his lips shocked even him. "Should…Should I break up with her?"

"Why on earth would you do that?" The greatest hero to have ever lived sat next to his young ward

"Because I'm torn between keeping everyone out to keep your secret and telling the truth to someone I…. I have never been so confused in my life."

"Do you really love young Ashido, Midoriya." The older hero asked, steadfast as a gargoyle.

"Yeah." Izuku responded confidently. She might have flustered him, nut he couldn't imagine not being with her. They were too entrenched in each other's lives now. They were a team.

"Do you trust her?" Toshinori followed up.

"With my life." Izuku nodded. There was no going back.

"That's some conviction for a high school romance, my boy." Toshinori stroked his chin, looking at the young man next to him.

"And I stand by it.…. You once said people need a symbol. A pillar of peace, but I'm thinking what they need more is a foundation. Something to build from. Nobody can do it all alone, even the greatest of us…I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"No. You're right. I can't say I agree with this. I think you're better off keeping the secret but, that's what I would do. My time is coming to an end, kid. You're already showing some wisdom, though you still have some growing to do. Give Ashido a call. We'll tell her the truth together." While it might not have looked the same as when he was All-Might, Toshinori still mustered a smile for his successor.

Izuku nodded before hugging his mentor. Stunned, the skeletal man closed his eyes and smiled before returning the gesture.

"Thank you. Not just for this favor, but for everything. I wouldn't be where I am without you." Izuku was ready to cry out of gratitude. This meant a lot to him. What's more, All-Might had become almost like a father-figure to the young hero.

"Don't get all teary eyed, Izuku. You made a good argument. You have someone to love and care about. Be proud of that."

Izuku called Mina. "Hey Mina? I'm at the beach. Would you be able to come? I have something I want to talk to you about."

"MISS ASHIDO! PLEASE BE SO KIND AS TO MEET ME AND YOUNG MIDORIYA AT DAGOBAH BEACH! IT WOULD BE AN HONOR" Toshinori grabbed the phone quickly, transforming into his All-Might form briefly to talk to Mina.

"All Might's with you? Holy crap! Is this, like, a villain thing?" Mina was shocked. She didn't expect one of the Yuuei teachers to be just hanging out with Izuku. Well, that's not entirely true. Rumor had it that Izuku was All-Might's illegitimate child. Regardless, he seemed serious, so she was concerned, but would meet him.

"No, but it is important. I have some things to say to you. All-Might has something to say first. "Izuku spoke softly. He was nervous, but he managed to get the words out without stuttering.

"Ok. I'll be there as soon as possible. Stay right there. "she said quickly, rushing out the door with all the energy Izuku would have expected.

Half an hour or so later and Mina was there. She walked onto the sand, dressed in a black Aliens t-shirt, jean shorts, and pink hi-tops. When she got there, she saw Izuku sitting by the fence, waving at her. She waved back and smiled. A strange revenant of a man with blonde hair walked up and greeted Mina.

"Ms. Ashido." The man said. "Would you care to join young Midoriya and I in private? I'd rather our conversation not be public."

"Um…ok dude, but who are you?" Mina cocked an eyebrow. She had no idea who this man was.

Izuku walked over to Mina. "He'll explain everything. For now, trust me."

"Ok. I believe you. But where is All-Might." Mina trusted Izuku, but still did not see the mighty hero who would supposedly meet them.

"You're looking at him. Toshinori said in a low voice so only the two teens could hear him.

After Mina picked her jaw up off the floor, she exercised some skepticism. That faded once the three ventured behind the changing station and Toshinori could transform.

"TA-DA! NOW DO YOU BELIEVE?" Toshinori, now in All-Might form stood, arms akimbo, a bit of blood still on his lips.

Mina was dumbfounded and sat down.

Izuku and Toshinori took turns explaining the situation, Izuku's originally quirkless nature, how most of Izuku's story was true, except for the parts where he neglected to mention being born quirkless, how One-For-All was a quirk that could be given, how it stockpiled power, and how Izuku was All-Might's chosen successor. The Yuuei teacher also told Mina how it was his idea to keep the secret and how Izuku convinced him to let Mina into the fold.

"This is a hefty secret, young lady. Only a handful of people know all this. Midoriya said he trusts you with his life and wants to come clean with you, so I trust his judgement. I ask you though, do you swear yourself to secrecy."

"My lips are sealed, sir!" she saluted the pro hero and looked to Izuku.

"Excellent. I'll leave you kids alone now. And Ashido, sorry for holding your boyfriend to secrecy. Whatever you must say to him, keep that in mind." Toshinori took his leave of the beach, with only Mina and Izuku left on that section of beach to talk things out.

The two stood alome, awkwardly shuffling their feet.

Izuku spoke first "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kept this from you. Especially not for so long. You had the right to know…" He tried to find further words, but Mina's hand grasped his, bringing him to a halt.

She sighed. "I'm not a big fan of secrets, so I'm glad you decided to open up to me. I kind of wish you had told me earlier. But I understand why you took so long. You had the freaking greatest hero of All-Time, your role model holding you to secrecy. Like, it would be different if it was just a friend or someone. I would be angrier. But I understand. Thank you for letting me in"

"No more secrets. I promise." Izuku placed his hand on his heart and bowed his head.

"I'll hold you to that." Mina ruffled his hair as she spoke.

"Thanks. T-there's something else I…I wanted to say." Izuku was shaking and stuttering, his face so red he could barely stand it. He was having trouble just saying those simple words. He couldn't squeeze them out. Finally, he just decided to show her. He kissed her dead on the lips, cupping her face gently and parting ways gently. "I…I love you, Mina."

Mina's face turned a bright lilac as her eyes widened, almost sparkling. She was already reeling from learning the truth of her boyfriend's powers, and All-Might's as well, and the fact that Izuku had to lie to her to keep All-Might's secret safe, but that he didn't want there to be secrets anymore and that whatever happened, he would accept the consequences. She pulled him in for a deep kiss, wrapping herself around him and not letting go for anything. He had shown her multiple times how he cared for her, but even still, they were awkward, inexperienced kids who were new to this. Just once she would have liked to hear those words and now, here they were. "I love you too, Izuku."

Mina separated herself from Izuku and looked him in the eye. She had a question of her own to ask, aside from some lingering inquiries about One-for-all.

"Do you want to stay over this weekend? My folks will be out of town." She smiled, bouncing up and down, playfully.

"I would be happy to." Izuku gave his awkward, adorable smile. The one Mina had come to love.

"Sweet! I can't wait!" Mina pounced on him, nearly knocking him to the ground. "It will be the best!"

"I-I can't wait either. Wait… will we be unsupervised?"

"Not entirely. My aunt Miko will be in to keep an eye on things. She's cool though. You'll like her." Mina chimed.

"Alright." Izuku sighed happily.

"What's wrong?" Mina whispered flirtatiously into his ear "expecting something intimate already?"

She chuckled as Izuku's spirit left his body. "I'm just messing with you. I mean…unless you want to."

"W-we can discuss that when we get there." Izuku stuttered, pouting about how easily his girlfriend can get to him.

She shrugged and kissed him on the cheek. "Fair enough. Let's get going."

The two headed towards the train station as the sun exited the stage.


	6. Chapter 6

The sea crashed against the shore, soothing in some spots, such as the sand, while rougher in others, such as the rocks of the wave breakers. Sometimes it got stormy, other times the sea was calm. This could be said of life as well, of time as it ebbed and flowed. Izuku and Mina's relationship was no different. Rough patches occurred, such as Izuku's acceptance of his treatment by Bakugou, his recklessness with his quirk, and how he nearly died several times. It had been a year of highs and lows, but the tide brought just as much as it washed away and they endured as time went on.

A year had passed and Mina wiggled her toes in the waves, her pink hands leaving prints in the sand. Izuku was playing with her boogie board as she watched, enjoying the cool water on her toes and the sea breeze in her hair. She was surprised she wasn't out there splashing around in the waves still, playing around with Izuku and giggling as the waves threw her around alongside her boyfriend. Still, she decided to think about a few things, like how she was one of a select few who knew All-Might's secret, and in turn, Izuku's. It added to her admiration of the boy. He was born quirkless, bullied, and beat down, and yet he still threw himself into danger, worked his ass off, and impressed the world's greatest hero. And yet, Izuku was still one of the nicest, sweetest, and most awkward nerds she had ever met.

Now that they were living in the dorms, Mina and Izuku saw a lot more of each other. They practically lived in each other's dorms However, this beach had become a second home, and whenever they could they visited. They did a bit of training here today, since early in the morning. Mina objected at first, even though she had the idea. He had to pick her up as she flailed and tried to grab her bed sheets but she relented. They ran laps, swam laps, did practice rescue drills (after talking with the life-guard. They didn't want to leave the muscular man with a lobster head out of the loop). It went slightly better than the flimsy flirt-fest their first few attempts at such a thing went, though the flirting still occurred. Mina couldn't help herself and Izuku, despite his normal reaction, really didn't mind.

She looked out at All-Might's chosen successor, the new symbol of peace in training. He was such an awkward dork, who mumbled, got flustered easily, and often injured himself with his quirk, much to Mina's chagrin. Who wants to see their boyfriend nearly kill himself? And yet, she loved this boy so much it hurt. He swam for shore, board in tow, a big smile on his face.

She jumped up and ran towards him, tackling him back into the water, right as he got to shore. He let out an odd quacking noise as she made impact and hovered over him. She smiled at him and grabbed the boogie board back.

"W-what the heck, Mi-?" he gasped as she cut him off with a kiss and then helped him up.

"You're just cute." Mina grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him up.

They sat and watched the sunset, holding hands as they dipped their feet in the waves and let this moment blanket them as they enjoyed the warmth of each other's company. Izuku had thought back to their rescue drills, especially that first, when she had teased him. He had thought about how close they had grown, physically and emotionally. They hadn't really gone that far yet. He was still nervous and slower to move forward than Mina, but she had been patient with him. Try as he might to fight those emotions, they were only natural and he might as well go back into the ocean and fight the tides themselves (though to be fair, with his quirk, he probably could pull a Moses, at least partially, if he felt like breaking his finger.)

Izuku gazed at Mina, and Mina at him. The young protegee of All-Might kissed the acid girl deeply, prompting her to wrap her arms around him as they fell to the ground, caught in the moment and a mix of love and hormones. They broke the kiss, panting heavily as they both stood up.

"Want to head back to the dorms, Izu?" Mina asked as she stretched, Izuku trying not to let certain thoughts escape as his eyes wandered to his girlfriend's slender and muscular form. They might have been dating for a year, but he still didn't want to come off as a pervert. Unfortunately, Mina noticed how he looked at her, even as he blushed and tried to hide it.

"Admiring the view still, Izu-kun?" she teased He made it way too easy sometimes but it never got old for her. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "You can take a closer look in my room." Her breath on his ear and her smooth voice made his face beet-red. She was tempted to roast Marshmallows on this poor boy's face, the way his face was heating up. Alas, she brought no such thing.

"M-mina!" Izuku stuttered. He bit his lip, trying to hide how much he liked that idea, and not sure why he was hiding it. A year onward and he was still somewhat of an awkward mess.

Izuku relented and took Mina's hand as she smiled at him. He smiled back and they headed for changing rooms. Once they arrived and boarded their train, Mina cuddled up to Izuku, burying her head in the nape of his neck and holding his hand. A blush crept across the green-haired boys face as he obliged her and kissed her nose. Mina smiled, content with how things were going.

"Izu." Mina moaned in contentment as she lifted herself away slightly and looked at him, with half-lidded eyes.

"Yeah Mina?" Izuku's arm was falling asleep, so he gently pulled it out from under her and wrapped it around her.

"I'm glad we met." The pink girl confessed in a simple yet honest matter. No flirtation or teasing or gentle ribbing. Just a single statement of love.

"W-where is this coming from?" Izuku was taken by mild surprise, but was still very much honored, even if part of him still didn't believe he deserved such praise, even after all he had done.

"I dunno. Just feel like I don't say it enough, dude." She shrugged a she snuggled up to him again. Izuku nodded and kissed her forehead. He knew why. They had brought out the best in each other, simply put. Izuku had become more confident and less awkward and Mina's grades had started to improve, as had her ability to strategize. In the past, Mina would have taken certain things for granted or wandered in ill-prepared without worrying about studying. Under Izuku's guidance, she managed to improve her grades dramatically, rising from towards the bottom of the class towards the middle. It was certainly better than where she used to be and even Aizawa was mildly impressed, even if she still wasn't near the top of the class.

"Glad I met you too, Mina. "he snuggled up to her in turn and they remained like that until they reached their destination. He didn't deny what she said or look downward in embarrassment. He just accepted the kind words of the acid girl and whispered "thank you." Izuku and Mina got off at their stop, grabbed their bags, and walked to the dorms. When they arrived, they headed to Izuku's room, closed the door, and taken that first step to a new level.

They were both nervous, but their hearts were pounding and hormones were flooding through their young bodies, barely able to keep themselves apart. Izuku was particularly unsure, as Mina grasped these things faster than him, but he still wanted this. He had constantly chastised himself for having such thoughts, even when Mina indicated that it was ok (and that she had had similar ideas). Mina had condoms on her. Her older brother Micha gave her some, just in case. She remembered Izuku almost having a heart attack and her wanting to scream from embarrassment, but it turned out to be a good call.

The two sat on Izuku's bed, making out heavily, both blushing wildly as Izuku tumbled backwards and Mina hovered over him, her black and yellow eyes staring lovingly into his white and green.

"Hi." Mina said softly, stroking Izuku's hair and gazing lovingly into his eyes.

"H-Hi." Izuku responded with a gulp while returning her gaze. "A-are…are we doing this…. you know…this?"

"Depends on what you mean by…. this…" Mina tilted her head, doing her best to lighten the mood for the big scary step they were about to take.

"Y-you know what I mean." Izuku choked out,

"W-we don't have to. I understand." Mina was nervous herself. She knew full well that Izuku was sweating bullets.

"No…I want to." Izuku spoke softly, composing himself as best he could.

"Are you sure? I don't want to pressure you if you're not ready yet, Izu." Mina was shaking a bit herself, but she was ready if he was. They had already done a lot together, from the USJ to the Vanguard attack. If they could handle those, they could handle this, together.

Izuku took a deep breath as he touched her face. "I'm ready." It helped to calm Izuku down, and it helped Mina stop shaking as well.

"To…Delaware Smash?" the pink girl joked, waggling her eyebrows.

"MINA!" Izuku started laughing. He was so nervous and flustered, but his girlfriend's goofiness was alleviating that, at least a little. He calmed himself. "I'm ready if you are."

Mina smiled softly and got up to close the window curtains so that nobody could peep. She placed her phone on her speaker and selected a playlist, then hit start. Soft music played as she got on the bed with Izuku and they dimmed the lights.

The next morning, Iida had ventured to Izuku's room to issue a noise complaint. It was an awkward scene that kept the dorms buzzing for weeks, but that's a story for another time. The Class president had told Mina and Izuku to be more respectful of noise levels from now on, but congratulated them like the dad-friend he was.

The waves roll, hero careers launch. Tide goes out, an argument breaks out about recklessness and nearly dying. The tide comes back in bringing new beginnings. A sparkling rock, sharp like the chiming of wedding bells. The sea takes life, like that of a great and beloved hero, and brings it, like a child born bearing his name. Time and Tide wait for no one, but as Izuku and Mina can attest, they will welcome you at Dagobah beach, like a gorgeous sunset welcomes a cool summer night.


End file.
